A glorious 72° day

We do not usually get many February days when the weather is like this. However, February 2017 has been outstanding weatherwise. Though this balmy whether may be caused by global warming, I remember similar February days from my childhood. Although, we did not have many warm days in a row – like this year.

This morning I had to put on lighter weight clothing. The temperatures are supposed to take a little dip after today from a rainstorm, maybe even a thunderstorm. But it's not going into the 30s at least not for a while, unless something changes.

At lunchtime I hung out in the back dining room until my tray was served. They opened the door and a lovely breeze came in from the sunshiny day outside. The air smelled clean and wonderful. It's really rough being indoors all the time. Last winter I think I went pretty much three months without a joy outing. Oh, I got out for a couple medical appointments. But I did not go out for a meal elsewhere or for any shopping or looking around. That makes life seem so dull and uninteresting.

People who are able to walk do not appreciate how easy it is for them to go outside when they want. Disability can change all that.

At Resident Council yesterday the aides said the residents wanted to go to several different restaurants to eat. They also want to go out for lunch more often than once a month. They brought up bowling as something else they would like to do. In fact, they discussed things so much, that they did not set up the restaurant for "lunch out" for March.

Everybody wants to be doing something different. But residents need to be supervised to go outdoors. There are only a few that can go out on their own.

I, of course, need assistance with things. So I would need an aide, family member, or friend to go out with me in this urban area where the nursing home is located.

My previous nursing home was in a rural area. I could go outside and use the service roads to go around the building and then come back. It was a nice little jaunt that made me feel I got my dose of fresh air.

My air-conditioning is on and has been most of the last few days. I even left it on all night last night. The facility still has minimal heat on in case there is a dramatic cooldown. So, they will not be able to save on the budget as much as if they could turn the heat off completely. Ever since Monday we have not really needed heat.

It's interesting how much this beautiful day raised the moods of the residents who live here. Some ate outside on the patio at lunch. It was unusually quiet for a Friday.

To me, today kind of proved that weather is a factor in our mental health.